


A Separate Moment

by samariumwriting



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Double Date, F/M, Implied/Referenced Mental Health Problems, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-25 17:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18266252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samariumwriting/pseuds/samariumwriting
Summary: Everything was over, or so Soren thought. No more conflict, no more politics, they'd leave all of it behind within days. That was, until a familiar face from the past showed up at the door, and Ike ends up planning a date for all four of them, of all things. The fact that said fourth member of the group is a famous Daein revolutionary fighter just makes everything more complicated.





	1. Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> snesyelpreview over on twitter mentioned that they'd like to see a Micaiah/Sothe and Ike/Soren double date, which evolved into me trying to fit it into plausible characterisation, which devolved into developing another entire AU for Tellius (to make a long story short, modern setting, Act 4 of RD didn't happen). Either way, it was fun to think of and write!

When there was a knock on the door, Soren admittedly expected the worst. He was growing tired of the constant callers in all their forms, with their kind words and their harsh words, their campaigning, their wheedling for favours from the ‘hero Sir Ike Gawain’. Sometimes, the person was actually looking for Soren, thinking they could get to aforementioned Ike through his ‘shadow’.

As such, he was pleasantly surprised when he opened the door to a familiar and not unwelcome face. The combination of those two really was a novelty these days. The face in question had changed in the four years since Soren had last seen him, but there was no doubt that the young man standing in front of him was the thirteen year old he’d caught trying to steal food from them in the dead of night.

“Soren,” he said, a smile on his face. “It’s good to see you again. Is Ike in?”

“Yes, he is,” Soren said. “I gather you want to speak to him?”

“I’d like to speak to both of you,” Sothe said, “and ask a small favour.” He clearly caught the change in Soren’s face, because he backpedalled very quickly. “Nothing onerous, I promise!” he said. “No politics, no monetary gain. Just...can you both hear me out about it?”

“Fine,” Soren said with a sigh, opening the door properly and letting Sothe in. He and Ike had agreed no visitors who were likely to go poking around and then spread rumours, but Sothe was only likely to do the former. “Ike! We have a visitor!”

“One moment!” Ike called. He was going through another box of miscellaneous things in the attic, by the sound of it, and when he came into the kitchen where Soren had guided Sothe to a chair at the table, he was covered head to foot in dust. “Oh, hey Sothe.”

“It’s great to see you again, Ike,” Sothe said, the smile on his face widening. Ike had always been his favourite, but then again, was there anyone decent who didn’t like Ike? “How have things been? It feels like so much has happened since I last saw you.”

Ike groaned. “I’m sure if you watched the news at all, you knew more about what was going on than I did. None of it made any sense to me.” What Ike wasn’t saying about what had happened was clear to Soren, but he didn’t know how clear it was to Sothe.

Sothe nodded, and before he could say anything else, Soren jumped in to direct the conversation away from Ike. “Were you in Daein during the revolution?” he asked. Sothe nodded.

“I was...quite involved,” he said. “I was in the Daein Liberation Army.”

“Any other countries around for you to liberate?” Ike asked with a chuckle. Sothe shook his head.

“Not for the moment, anyway,” he said, a knowing smile on his face. “I’m hoping that everything is decidedly over now, and I can settle down.”

“You found the person you were looking for?” Soren asked. He remembered how Sothe had been when he’d stayed with them before. He’d spoken extensively about the girl he called his best friend, and before he got his story straight he’d referred to her as both his sister and his girlfriend. Soren was familiar with that kind of close relationship that was hard to explain in a single word.

“In Daein,” Sothe said with a nod. “She’s...why I’m here, actually. I always spoke about you, about Crimea and my time here, and now all the borders and visas and stuff are settled I could finally come here. And I’d like if you could meet Micaiah - that’s my girlfriend’s name.” He fumbled over his words slightly, and Soren almost laughed at the flustered note of pride in his voice.

“Why didn’t you bring her here now?” Soren asked. He and Ike wouldn’t be in Melior for much longer. Within a week, their plan had been to cross the border to Gallia and to not return to Crimea for a long time.

“I didn’t want to drop in without warning,” he said. “I thought catching up might take a while. And I thought we could maybe...go out somewhere? I haven’t really been many places since we arrived and it would be good to go somewhere you’d recommend.”

Ike nodded, a smile on his face. Soren wanted to object, because they didn’t really have time to take an afternoon out of preparing to leave, unless they were completely convinced that there were things they could discard without even looking at them. But he didn’t want to tip Sothe off that there was something going on. Just in case. “How does tomorrow sound?” Ike asked.

“If you’re not too busy, that would be great,” Sothe said. He looked between Ike and Soren, and Soren offered him as neutral a look as he could manage. He didn’t want to go on an outing with someone who had lived with them in some of the worst times of Ike’s life, especially as when they went out, someone might recognise them. Sothe had been a nice kid, but he was an adult now, and this was completely impractical. But he couldn’t say no, especially if Ike wanted to go.

“I know exactly where to go if you want somewhere nice,” Ike said, a thoughtful smile on his face. That just made Soren more worried, because that meant Ike had a plan, and that meant he was going all in with this. As he gave Sothe the details, the picture of the afternoon that Ike wanted started building in Soren’s mind. Food, the river, staying for the sunset...it sounded an awful lot like a date.

It wasn’t that Soren objected going on a date with Ike. It was nice to spend time together just...being. But this was different. They were going on a date with another couple. Presumably quite a young couple. And it was public, and they had a thousand other things that they needed to do. It wouldn’t be conducive to relaxation at all, even taking out the fact that Soren loathed small talk, and it was almost inevitable that an afternoon with a stranger would involve a hefty amount of that.

But seeing Ike plan it, and the light in his eyes as he finalised when they’d be meeting with Sothe...Soren knew he could grin and bear it. Because while Ike did want to leave, and go on this journey and get away from Melior, he also worried about dropping all the ties to people they had here. This afternoon of happiness was the least that Soren could try and do to help.


	2. Date

By midday of the next day, Soren was stressed. He usually tried to stay level headed in these kinds of situations; getting stressed helped no one, especially not himself. But for some reason, he couldn't shake the little bit of worry he had about this. His heart was telling him that something was wrong, and his mind was telling him over and over that if they weren't completely prepared for this journey in every way, it would never happen.

But midday the next day came, and it saw him packing a cooler bag full of food. Bottles of water and juice, fruit, a tub of chicken wings, three beers and a flask full of iced tea. There was almost more than they'd be able to eat in an afternoon, and Sothe and Micaiah were bringing even more. In theory, it would be a nice afternoon.

In practise, Soren realised when he reached the park, this would not be the case. He was already feeling a bit twitchy by the time they reached the river. He didn't like being out in public with Ike because he always worried about being recognised, being harassed, being... anything, really. This was exactly why they were taking a break, according to Ike, and Soren could see his point being intricately illustrated by this afternoon.

His nerves didn't lessen when Micaiah and Sothe approached. Immediately, something felt off, and it took Soren a few moments to work out what it was; Micaiah was Branded, just like him. He’d never really worked out if everyone could sense it like he could, but from Micaiah’s look when she met his gaze, she could tell. And the kind of conversation that connection brought up was one of Soren’s least favourites.

And seeing Micaiah brought up the other problem. Because why would Soren have made the connection from name to celebrity figure? He and Ike had seen, though not spoken to, Micaiah before, a handful of times, before Ike put his foot down about no longer going to diplomatic events. One of the leaders of the Daein Revolution. And Sothe had just casually brought her here for a date. What was he thinking?

Soren was so close to calling the whole thing off, backing out and getting them both somewhere safer. But Ike smiled warmly to Micaiah and Sothe and just continued like he didn’t recognise her. “Afternoon, Sothe!” he said, waving. “And Micaiah. Uh. Hi?”

“Good afternoon,” Sothe said, smiling back. “I brought the food you asked me to. Are we still fine to go where we planned?” Soren could see the younger man looking at him.

Ike shot a glance at Micaiah- he definitely recognised her. Well, of course he did. She was an incredibly recognisable figure, and Ike and Soren both had been present at negotiations with Daein over border crossing and formal relations and all kinds of things. “I should think so,” he said. “And we, uhh, not to put it bluntly, but you don’t have- you don’t have security following us or anything?”

Micaiah let out a short laugh, but she looked a little concerned nonetheless. As she should. “No, nothing like that,” she said. “It’s just Sothe and I on holiday here. It’s a break from...all of those concerns. We hope.” She was looking at him now too, which signalled to Soren that he was probably meant to say something, but he stayed silent. He had nothing good to say about this situation. Normally he’d speak up, but he didn’t want to ruin this for Ike.

“Let’s get going, then,” Ike said, grabbing Soren’s right hand in his left a moment later. Soren couldn’t help but flush; no matter how many times Ike held his hand, it was always a surprise, and a welcome one at that. “It’s not too far, but we probably want to be sat down before one so we can get to eating.”

Following behind them, Sothe and Micaiah chatted about what sounded like nothing important while Ike led the way. After five minutes of walking in silence, which wasn’t unusual for the pair of them, Ike leaned over slightly. “Is everything okay?” he asked.

Soren grimaced. He didn’t want to hurt Ike’s feelings and put a dampener on the day. “It’s just a bit of an uncomfortable situation,” he said. “You know him and I didn’t talk much. And Micaiah is an important figure in her home country. I don’t like the similarities to all those court encounters.”

Ike kept his eyes fixed forwards and ran his thumb over Soren’s fingers without letting go. “I know what you mean,” he said. “But look at it this way. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, she probably doesn’t either. And we get to spend some time together away from all the preparation.”

“That’s what the journey itself is for, Ike,” Soren said, shooting him a fond smile.

“I know,” he said. “But I’m sure you can get through all those endless boxes of your exam revision notes a bit faster than we’ve been doing before. It’ll be fine, and we both deserve a break. You especially.”

“If you say so,” he said. He felt a little better about the whole thing, though decidedly not at ease. He didn’t think he could be at ease with so much hanging over them right now, but he could try. For Ike, he’d at least try and pretend it was a good time. “We’ll have to leave early if we cause a diplomatic incident, though.”

Ike chuckled. “Got it. Don’t stab the Maiden of Dawn if she takes the last chicken leg.” In spite of his feelings, Soren had to laugh at that, and the light in Ike’s eyes in response was more than enough to lift his mood a little.

The rest of the walk to the spot Ike had picked was in silence - Sothe and Micaiah continued to chat behind them, and Soren could make out every word, but it wasn't anything meaningful. All empty chatter, completely inoffensive in every way. Filling the silence in a way that may as well have been silence.

Soren wasn't often a fan of the outdoors, but the area Ike had picked for them to sit had a certain kind of beauty to it that made him feel at home. It was on the quieter side of the river, in a small area set back from the side of the water surrounded by trees. It had a small amount of privacy because of this, and Soren almost grimly noted internally that it was a defensible position. Just in case, he supposed.

"It's beautiful here," Micaiah said, an easy smile on her face as she set down the bundled up blanket she'd been carrying on the ground. "Thank you for this, Ike."

"It's no problem," Ike said, even though it sort of was. Because they had so much to do. But Ike wasn't viewing it like that, and even if he was, he wasn't going to say as much to the pair. "It's a lovely spot."

"It really is," Sothe said, his gaze out on the water. "And it's so quiet here, even with all the families across the river. When we arrived, I was worried we wouldn't be able to speak openly."

"We can talk all we like here," Ike said, "and I feel like we have quite a lot to talk about."

Sothe nodded. "But not before we start on this food. It's all serious things, but I don't want us to feel like we're in some kind of conference."

With a wide smile, Ike practically threw himself onto the ground, Soren following with a little more restraint. He immediately started getting food out of the bag they'd brought, and Sothe did the same. “So how have things been?” Ike asked. “Obviously you’ve been...busy. Considering, well-”

“You could say so,” Sothe said, a smile creeping onto his face as he looked over at Micaiah. There was an ease to his movements that there hadn’t been yesterday, just adding to Soren’s conviction about his relationship with Micaiah. “You haven’t exactly been slacking either. You’ve made quite the rounds of the continent.”

“It was certainly something,” Ike said. He was probably trying to avoid recounting anything more. “It wasn’t a good time, but we did what needed to be done. And it’s all over now. I guess you feel the same way about what you’ve been up to?”

Sothe nodded firmly. Soren almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the scene; discussing past wars at the same time as eating cheap snacks bought from the closest supermarket. “It’s good to be done with all of that,” Micaiah said. “We’re getting a much needed break. I think Sothe was more enquiring into how things are now it’s done.”

“Good,” Ike said. “Could be better. But getting there, I’d say. It’s strange, going back to normal when what’s normal has changed so much in the last few years.”

“We’ve been planning to go on a holiday of our own for a while,” Soren said. “But planning is the key word there.” A half lie, sort of. They were still planning what they were going to do, but he just hadn’t mentioned how imminently they were leaving. Micaiah gave him an odd look.

“Ours has been good,” Micaiah said. “Better now I’ve been able to properly meet the person Sothe probably hasn’t stopped talking about since he got back to Daein four years ago.” She shot Ike a bright smile, and Sothe spluttered, crumbs littering the grass. “Oh, Sothe, are you choking?” Micaiah asked in possibly the most sickly sweet voice Soren had ever heard.

Ike laughed as he watched the pair of them. “You’ll probably be pleased to know that he mentioned you quite a lot when he was here as well, then,” he said. Soren remembered. Sothe had always spoken extensively about his best friend or perhaps sister (definitely not sister, with hindsight) and how incredible she was.

“Good to hear,” Micaiah said. “And you’d be Soren,” she said, turning to Soren and reminding him that actually he hadn’t introduced himself because he’d been so caught of guard by who she was.

“I am,” he said, trying not to shift under her gaze. She had an oddly piercing gaze; golden, and intense in some way he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Like she could see more than she was letting on. “Though I think I’m more often known as Ike’s shadow.”

“A midday shadow,” Ike said with a laugh, nudging Soren with his shoulder.

“Height jokes are quite the pinnacle of humour,” he shot back, a smile forming easily on his face. “Do regail us with more wisdom, Ike.”

“I think people are more likely to refer to you as my brains rather than my shadow,” he said, popping a sausage in his mouth and maintaining direct eye contact. Soren felt the thankfully easily resisted need to inform Ike that Sothe didn’t actually know how old he was and could therefore be a child.

“I don’t think you have a single muscle in your body that isn’t larger than my brain,” he said, grinning fondly. He was very aware of Sothe and Micaiah’s eyes on the pair of them, but he almost couldn’t bring himself to care. He was going to enjoy this time to relax with Ike as much as he could, judgement be damned.

“Speaking of muscles,” Ike said, with phrasing that sounded suspiciously like he was about to follow his words with an excuse to show off, “it’s really hot.” As Soren had predicted, Ike immediately pulled his shirt off, revealing his torso for just about every onlooker with any interest in men to oggle. Soren was included in this number.

Also included in this group was Sothe, who was getting quite the look from his girlfriend. It didn’t take a genius to work out what would happen next. With a delighted and slightly devious smile, Micaiah pulled Sothe up off the ground and very promptly pushed him into the water, a peal of laughter following him as he resurfaced.

“Micaiaaaaaaaah,” Sothe complained, completely drenched. His complaining only increased in volume as Ike, laughing heartily, jumped in after him and splashed him all over again. “Ike, whyyyyy.”

“It’s fine, it’s safe!” Ike said, immediately swimming a little way out from the edge. “I swam in this river all the time when I was even smaller than you.” The sound of Sothe’s complaining got a little quieter as they got further away, and Soren realised he was now essentially alone with Micaiah.

When he glanced over at her, there was a bright, fond smile on her face. “Ike brings out the best in people, doesn’t he?” she asked. Soren nodded. “Of all kinds of people, I would expect someone like you to have fought for the laguz.”

“We all do things that surprise ourselves when Ike is involved,” Soren said. He didn’t want to go too far into this topic. His heritage was an uncomfortable discussion; how that had affected his view on laguz and how Ike had changed that was not something he wanted to discuss with a stranger at all.

“Sothe was so different when he came home to Daein,” Micaiah said. “So quickly, he changed from a boy to a man, and I wasn’t even there when it happened. I should probably thank Ike for that, in part.” Soren nodded, and after a few moments more of watching the two of them in the water, Micaiah turned to him. “Tell me the truth,” she said. That was never a good start. “How are the pair of you?”

“I think what Ike said earlier sums it up pretty well,” he said. He didn’t want to have this conversation. It was hard enough to talk about how he was feeling with Ike, let alone anyone else. “Could be better. But doing okay.”

Micaiah nodded. “The war was hard for everyone,” she said. “The people who fought in it were hurt a lot more than I think most want to acknowledge. You’re leaving soon, aren’t you?”

Soren wanted to know how she knew that, but he felt like he’d already run out of any power in this conversation. He’d already sort of lied about this once. “We’re going to Gallia soon,” he said. “From there? Somewhere else. Not Crimea. Not for a while.”

“I see,” Micaiah said. For a moment, she closed her eyes, letting the sun fall on her face. Soren collected a few items of food from the ground and placed them in his lap to put in his mouth in case she asked another awkward question. “And you don’t want people to know. May I ask why?”

Soren chewed for a few moments on a piece of cake. “Everyone likes Ike,” he said. “We have a lot of connections here. People won’t want him to leave.” There was so much more to say here that he’d never dream of telling anyone; Ike would be held back by the emotional attachments of others. They’d want him to stay, and whether they meant well or not, it should be up to Ike to decide what he should do in the future.

“I always wanted to fade into the background once Daein was free,” Micaiah said. “People like me in Daein probably shouldn’t be at the forefront of political life. People will start to question things. Now, I don’t think that’s an option. But I can respect what the two of you are doing, even if it’s going to hurt Sothe.”

“I wasn’t asking for your approval,” he said. They would go, regardless of what Micaiah thought of their choices.

“Of course not,” she said. “But I think it’s a good idea anyway. You clearly care for Ike very much. I think your journey will be good for the both of you. I can...sense it, almost. It will make you both happier, Ike especially.”

Well, that wasn’t creepy at all. Soren wanted to remind her that it wasn’t really any of her business, but after telling Ike not to cause an international incident, he should probably mind his manners a little. “Good to hear,” he said, casting his gaze back over the river.

Micaiah followed his gaze, smiling again. “You’re a lucky man, Soren,” she said. “Keep him close.”

When Ike and Sothe swam back over to them, Soren couldn’t get Micaiah’s words out of his head. They weren’t a warning - her tone had been kind, and neither afraid nor threatening. It never really slipped his mind, exactly, how lucky he was and how incredible Ike was. But that afternoon, walking back to the home they were about to leave behind, the evening sun streaming through the trees and Ike’s hand holding his, the knowledge was even warmer in his chest than usual.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone is interested in the setting, feel free to leave a comment below and I can dump all my headcanons on you aksdhfgkshdf. Alternatively, you could hit me up on Twitter (@samariumwriting) and unlock my full disaster gay potential. If the mood strikes me I may add more to this AU but I'm not sure right now.


End file.
